When he was told to
remove his blindfold, he found himself surrounded by cameras and flashing
camera lights. Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian journalist, was arrested and
charged with espionage during the 2009 mass protest of the contested
presidential elections in Iran. Inside the notorious Evin prison in the
capital, Teheran, Maziar had to respond to a crowd of officially designated
‘journalists’. His interrogator told him that if he failed to cooperate he
would be executed. When the last 'journalist' came through, he introduced
himself as a Press TV representative. The interview was broadcast the same
evening from Press TV. In it Maziar confessed under duress that he had sent
false reports about the protests to Channel 4 News in the UK and Newsweek in the US.

A few months later, Maziar
managed to leave Iran, released on a heavy bail. Once in London he complained
about the Press TV interview to Ofcom, a British media watchdog. In May 2011,
Ofcom confirmed that Press TV had produced and broadcast an interview that was
recorded under duress. A fine of £100,000 was placed on Press TV and when it
refused to pay, Ofcom ordered Sky TV satellite to take Press TV off the air.

Other victims of forced
confessions broadcasted on Press TV have not been as privileged. The pictures
and forced confessions of Hashem Shabani, a poet and high school teacher, and
Hadi Rashedi, a school headmaster, were broadcast in December 2011 prior to
their trial, before they were executed and buried secretly in January 2014.
They were part of a group of young, educated Ahwazi Arabs who had established a
cultural institute called Al-Hiwar (dialogue), teaching in their mother tongue. In
February 2010, the group members were detained in a mass arrest. Kept
incommunicado for months by the Intelligence Ministry, the detainees, including
Hashem and Hadi, were severely tortured to confess their involvement in
terrorist attacks. They were put in front of a camera which proved to be Press
TV, who later broadcast their confessions.

Justice
for Iran (JFI) has documented the accounts of
several political prisoners who experienced the same plight: arrested, detained
in solitary confinement, tortured, forced to do a televised confession, tried
unduly and unfairly based solely on their own confessions, and finally
sentenced to death or a heavy prison term. These documents provide undeniable
evidence that Press TV acts directly at the service of the Intelligence Ministry,
which tortures and suppresses Iranian citizens. The evidence against Press TV
was compelling, showing that it can no longer be regarded as a trust-worthy and
independent media organisation.

JFI urged satellite
companies and governments to take Press TV off the air, and sanction both the
entity and the individuals who were responsible for those violations. Over the
course of one year, Press TV was taken off the air by several satellite
companies, such as Eutelsat, and in several countries, including Germany, Spain
and the United States. In March 2013, the Council of the European Union adopted
restrictive measures against two Press TV officials, CEO Mohammad Sarafaraz, and Hamid Reza Emadi, the head of the newsroom
and the ‘journalist’ who conducted the ‘interview’ with Maziar Bahari. They
both challenged the decision before the European Court of Justice; a hearing
session is scheduled for 5 May 2015. .

The case of Press TV
proves that even in the most challenging cases, such as Iran, perpetrators can still
be held accountable. However, the tools available to civil society are limited
and their few victories are too fragile and unsustainable.

Documenting perpetration

Established with the summary executions of the Shah’s officials on the rooftop of Refah School where Ayatollah Khomeini lived and later became the leader of the Iranian
Revolution of 1979, the history of the Islamic Republic is tightly bound with
absolute impunity. There is no justice inside the country and it is therefore up to civil society
living in exile to bring perpetrators to justice. Yet the history of civil
society’s stand against impunity in Iran is relatively short and delicate.

Reports by both international
and Iranian human rights organisations have done much to bring the dire
conditions of Iran’s human rights to the attention of the world. There has,
however, been more focus on the victims rather than the perpetrators. This is
why they continue to commit the same crimes.

Initiated by JFI, the Data Bank of Human Rights Violators identifies
perpetrators and collects evidence about their roles in gross human rights
abuses. The information about 266 perpetrators, including evidence, photos, and
testimonies, is stored in this databank. So far, based on this evidence, more
than 70 profiles have been published and are available on the web site. The
perpetrators listed in the databank have committed crimes against diverse
groups such as women, political prisoners, members of Baha’i faith, ethnic
minorities and human rights defenders.

Shedding light on
crimes by naming and shaming the perpetrators is the first and the most
significant aim of the databank. None of them have ever faced justice in Iran
or have been held accountable; most continue to hold much power and are often
promoted to higher posts. The databank offers the opportunity to the people of
Iran to know and identify them. Those who used to live as ‘respectful’ members
of their community will no longer be immune from the staring gaze of their
neighbours. More importantly, due to sever censorship and secrecy, sometimes
even the perpetrators’ families do not know their true activities.

Apart from the naming
and shaming, the databank has also contributed to the process of
accountability. Following advocacy campaigns by Iranian human rights activists,
the Council of the European Union passed a regulation which allowed the EU to
adopt restrictive measures, including travel ban and freezing of the assets, against
those who were complicit in or responsible for directing or carrying out grave
human rights violations.

Unfortunately, the data
available only goes as far as March 2013, when the name of 87 individuals and
two entities were added to the list of human rights sanctions. The databank had
in fact identified and recommended for sanctions 17 of these names, including
Press TV’s officials. Since that date, and contrary to EU regulations, which obliges
the Council to revise the list of individuals to be added to the sanctions list
on a bi-annual basis, the Council has not met to discuss these any further.
This has brought to a sudden halt to the functioning of an effective tool for
locating the perpetrators. It is assumed that the main reason for this sudden
change is political, relating to the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the
P5+1.

Appeasement vs. justice

Despite the enormous
achievement in such a short period of time, the databank has faced several
challenges, including the challenges of documentation, legal barriers,
effectiveness and policy shift.

Although the databank
has identified several judges and prosecutors, and documented their
responsibility in human rights violations, it has not been very successful with
regards to naming those in the security apparatus. While security forces have
the main role in arbitrary arrests, torture and extracting coerced and mostly
unreal confessions, their identities often remain hidden as they use pseudonyms
and keep the prisoners either blindfolded or sat in front of a wall while
questioning. Furthermore, some crucial information such as date and place of
birth of the perpetrators is difficult to obtain, even for those whose
identities have already been disclosed.

Even when there is
sufficient information against a perpetrator, the options available outside the
country to hold them accountable are usually far more limited. The principle of
universal jurisdiction would offer a small window to prosecute perpetrators who
either travel outside Iran or reside in countries where there is a law of
universal jurisdiction. However, legal barriers remain, such as the UK Privacy
Act, which protects information of a perpetrator’s whereabouts, and statutes of limitations,
which restricts litigation for past crimes.

On top of all
obstacles, the impact and effectiveness of the databank has been challenged by
the policy shift of western countries towards Iran after Hassan Rouhani took
the presidential office in August 2013, which gave hope for a negotiated
resolution to long-standing nuclear dispute. The countries that used to
criticise the Islamic Republic for violations of human rights have since
remained silent. As the reports of the UN Special
Rapporteurs on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, clearly
illustrate, there has been no improvements in the human rights conditions of
Iran since Rouhani came to power. Shaheed further stresses that a majority of
the problems as defined by Iran’s Universal Periodic Review “remained
unimplemented”, and the underlying causes of violations “remain unaddressed.”
This in turn creates a safe haven for the perpetrators, who feel confident that
while the nuclear talks with Iran are in progress, their violations will not be
highlighted.

Some even feel they can
enjoy absolute impunity and even look forward to promotions. Mohammad Sarafaraz, who
has been
banned from travelling to Europe because of his involvement in forced televised
confessions, was recently appointed as the head of Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting (IRIB) by the Supreme Leader.

Every day, as more
crimes are committed, more names are added to the Data Bank of Human Rights
Violators. This is crucial information bank to raise public awareness about the
criminals who live amongst the people. This vital tool must be strengthened and
supported by international organisations, such as the EU and UN, to bring
violators of human rights to justice. Political priorities and appeasement
policies must not be allowed to create obstacles to justice.

About the author

Shadi Sadr is a founder of Justice for Iran (JFI). A journalist and lawyer, she represented several women sentenced to death and as a result of her extensive activities, was imprisoned in Iran on various occasions prior to her departure in 2009.

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